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Thousands of bands are putting music into the MySpace world, and millions of people are eager to consume it, creating an unparalleled distribution environment. Certain music-related elements have been around since the beginning of MySpace, but when it comes to music, there's always something fresh and new lurking up MySpace's digital sleeve.
The almighty MySpace Music Player
The MySpace Music Player gives musicians an outlet to the masses — offering an even playing field for any band that uses it, no matter how obscure. Who needs radio play when you could (potentially, anyway) have millions of people listen to your song on MySpace?
 | A band's MySpace Music Player gives any potential fan an instant taste of what the musician has to offer. No downloads, no payment, and no hassles. |
The following list shows you what makes up this seemingly simple music player:
- Instant access: You want to hear the music now? You got it.
- Interaction and feedback: The MySpace Music Player has a rating and comment system that lets you voice your opinion. The musician can also allow song downloads through the MySpace Music Player — making you potentially only one click away from having your own copy of their must-have MP3.
- Easy to distribute: You can send your favorite band's MySpace URL to all your friends, and they'll be listening in no time.
- Standalone Player option: You can have your own personal jukebox filled with your band's goodies, independent of MySpace.
- Ability to add songs to personal profile: You can potentially add any song that you can listen to on a musician's MySpace Music Player to your personal MySpace page, as well.
Top Artist listings
MySpace has created the MySpace Top Artists listings to help you keep up with the who's who of the MySpace music world. The Top Artists are ranked depending on the play that their MySpace Music Player is getting, so it's a true view of what the millions of MySpacers are currently listening to.
You can check out the Top Artist listings by first clicking the Music link in the main MySpace navigation and then clicking the Top Artists link in the main Music navigation links.
Music videos
Music videos on MySpace Music have become the easiest way to see your favorite mainstream musicians doing their thing. If you want to go watch a few videos, click the Music link in the main MySpace navigation and then click the Music Videos link in the main music navigation. The MySpace Music Videos window opens. Here, you can watch the most popular videos or search for a particular artist, song, or genre.
Finding live shows
| With the incredible number of bands that are constantly writing updates, posting their tour schedules, and relying on MySpace to promote and distribute their music, you're going to have a hard time finding a better resource for getting information on live music on the Net. With the Shows search feature that's included in the MySpace Music section, your next live music show is just a few clicks away. |
Want to give the Shows search feature a shot? Click the Music link in the main MySpace navigation and then click the Shows link in the main music navigation. When you get to the main Shows search window, simply add in a ZIP code, a maximum distance for the search to cover, and the genre of music you want to find. Click the Sort button, and every live show within your requested area appears.
The future of music on MySpace
MySpace has gathered the audience, and now it's time to give this audience what they want, when they want it, and how they want it. Here are a few new and innovative things that either have just hit the MySpace world or are coming soon:
- Cingular's Mobile Music Studio: With the Cingular Mobile Music Studio, any musician who has a few songs and a MySpace account can do the ringtone thing — not only create ringtones, but also sell them though MySpace.
- Paid music downloads: MySpace has been in talks with PayPal, an online payment gateway, about creating an all-new paid music portal on MySpace that would rival the current 800-pound gorilla of music downloads, iTunes.
- Third-party tools: Many third party software developers are creating online widgets that you can use within the MySpace world. Some of these things include video platforms, news feeds, and various online payment systems.
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